Meet Mr. Max

After much anticipation, we finally picked up "little" Max this weekend! He came running out of the breeder's garage and we were surprised at how big he was already, lol! All I can say is it was love at first sight! He is the most beautiful puppy I have ever seen. You cannot help but fall in love with him!

Getting used to his collar:)



We found that he liked to have a little control over the leash!





We took him by Findley Lake on the way home (where J.R. stayed while he was finishing up at Penn State). It was a gorgeous day, and I love this place. We have a lot of good memories here!



We also took him to Presque Isle. He seemed to enjoy sitting on the beach, but he wasn't a big fan of the water (yet :)).


Mr. Max weighs 23lbs at 12 weeks, according to the vet. He actually loves to be held (even though you can't tell in this picture :)). I told him to enjoy being carried while he can:)

Labor Day Weekend 2009

We went rafting on the Ocoee over Labor Day weekend. J.R. had been on the trip once before, but it was my first time out. Everyone seemed to have some horror story to tell us before we went, so I was slightly scared when we started. However, as soon as we got out on the water, we both had a lot of fun! Aside from the shivering (we picked the one day out of the entire weekend that turned out to be cold and rainy), it was well worth the driving and early morning check-in! We both want to go back next year!

Our guide, Laura, was awesome and kept all but one of us in the boat. She even offered me a long-sleeved shirt when I started to get really cold!

After we finished, we walked the Olympic part of the course to watch the other rafters and kayaks try their luck.



J.R. purchased this UT (University of Tennessee for those who don't know) hat over the weekend. He only wishes he were a true Tennessee Vol:)!




Thank you to J.R.'s mom, Susan, for the water shoes! She saved me from having to wear the ugly (and not very supportive) Walmart water shoes that most of the women were wearing. I thought mine were the cutest out there:)!



My dad took us shooting at the range again. J.R. brought his own gun this time and really impressed my dad with his accuracy.



We had a few encounters with some small wildlife during the weekend as well. I spent an hour trying to get a shot of the hummingbirds that buzz around my dad's deck. They are so fast! I finally caught one in time!



J.R. saw this guy on the road as we were driving back to my dad's house one afternoon. We decided to save him from being roadkill and brought him back with us.



He just didn't look that appreciative when we dropped him off in the woods though, lol!:)

Downtown Nashville and the Hike at Fall Creek Falls August 22-23 2009

J.R. drove to Nashville last weekend. We visited the walking bridge in downtown Nashville and ate lunch at Big River. The sun started to peak out of the clouds as soon as we arrived, which made it really nice!


On Sunday we went hiking at Fall Creek Falls which is located near Cookeville, TN. We had been here once before and only walked down to the bottom of the larger falls (we heard rumor that they filmed parts of the Jungle Book movie here).


We explored a little further this time and hiked to the nature station where you can access a smaller waterfall (I think it was named Caney Creek Falls??).

We were actually able to walk out to the edge of one of the waterfalls (below) because the water wasn't flowing in part of the area. It looked like a pretty scary drop from our view.

To get to the bottom of this waterfall where there was swimming, we had to hold onto a cable and climb down the side of a mountain (or a hill as J.R. likes to call them when he compares them to Utah's mountains)! I think it may have been one of the most strenuous climbs I have ever had. I held on for dear life to the cable! It was well worth it though. The whole area at the bottom was absolutely beautiful!

J.R. found a HUGE spider on one side of the falls. You can see it in this picture if you click on the photo to enlarge it, and look at the end of the arrow. This picture was taken from several hundred yards away, so imagine how big this thing was! After we climbed back up the mountain to leave we noticed that there was a sign warning that rattlesnakes and copperheads were present around the waterfall too. We both wished we had read this before we climbed down!

Julie's Lingerie Shower August 15th 2009

I hosted a lingerie shower for my sister, Julie, with one of her other bridesmaids a few weekends ago. It took a lot more planning than I realized and a lot of trips to Hobby Lobby and Michaels, but I think we pulled it off.

I found these invitations at Halmark and thought they were perfect.




The shower was supposed to be on the pool deck, but the weather did not cooperate so we moved it to an apartment. I think things turned out well.



My stepmom, Jackie, drove all the way from Oak Ridge (along with our mom, our friend Peggy, and our cousin Emily) to attend.




I searched everywhere for pink and black M&M's to go with the shower theme. I made silver wine charms with tiny painted flip flops for everyone (since I thought we would be at the pool).



"Getting to Know the Bride" game. Surprisingly, the team that won was comprised of Jackie, Peggy (in yellow), and our Cousin Emily (in red). We had some interesting prizes for them:)!





These were the "Granny Panties" I found at Walmart and fixed up as a joke for Julie. You can tell how much she loved them, lol!



I had a few "real" gifts for her as well. They had these bridal iron-ons at Michaels. I am hoping to make some tank tops that say "bridesmaid," etc. for the whole bridal party when we go out for her bachelorette party.





These are Julie's awesome friends and our mom, who made the day very special for her.